


The Pumpkin Jamboree

by paigebulba



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Halloween, Humanstuck, M/M, Multi, idk it depends on how this goes, ill add more tags later, might add more people/ships later, might change rating later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-28
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-19 02:16:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2370746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paigebulba/pseuds/paigebulba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Halloween fair is in town, and two nerdlords meet and ruin each other's lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first mult chap fic!  
> Any sort of reviews/comments/feedback is appreciated!  
> I'll update whenever I can if this turns out well.  
> Enjoy!

**Chapter One**

 

Why were you even here? You knew you would start to regret it the moment you stepped out of the passengers seat of your best friend, Aradia Megido’s, car. She was way, way to excited for this.

It wasn’t necessarily cold out, but the October wind nipped at your cheeks. The hot coffee you brought along with you steams your slightly red and blue tinted glasses as you took a drink with one hand, your other hand being gripped tightly by Aradia’s hand as she pulls you along, rambling on about what she wants to do first.

Your town isn’t huge, and honestly, there isn’t a lot to do. Depending on who you are and who you hung out with, kids in your town usually gathered at one of five places: the seedy and borderline creepy arcade, the back of the one active gas station in town, the library, the public park, or the run down, school owned but definitely not school operated, youth center. People your age usually kept to their own groups at their own designated hang out spots. However, once the Halloween season hit, festivities seemed to take hold of every soul around, and it was almost considered to be sacrilege if someone didn’t partake. The three-day long Pumpkin Jamboree in the town’s usually desolate fair grounds were bustling with activity and life. Kids of all ages were running around, screaming and giggling, trying their hardest to ride all of the rides they could before their exhausted parents packed them up and took them home. There were quite a few teenagers like yourself there, too, trying to get that last bit of fun out of their youth.

Your name is Sollux Captor, you are a seventeen year old senior in high school, and you still don’t know why you’re here.

However, deep down, you know exactly why. You’re here because you really have nothing better to do, and you sure as hell don’t have anyone else to hang out with. Aradia is your best friend, of course, but she’s also one of your only friends. With her, your verbal cannon of a friend, Karkat Vantas, his equally as abrasive girlfriend, Terezi Pyrope, and, if you count your awkward friendship with your own ex girlfriend, Feferi Peixes, you can count all of your friends on your right hand, and still have a pinky to spare. The only one you ever hung out with anymore was Aradia, since Karkat and Terezi were always together and, to be honest, they were more than you could handle sometimes.

So, when Aradia told you that you were coming with her to opening night of the Pumpkin Jamboree, you really didn’t put up much of a fight at all. In all honesty, you were actually happy she asked you to tag along. She knows you well enough to know that you wouldn’t have gone if she didn’t ask, and you know her well enough to know she wouldn’t let you not go. Now, here you are, trailing about a foot behind your best friend as she pulls you along the seemingly endless rows of rides, food stands, and games, talking about how badly she wants to go on the Zero Gravity ride and how she absolutely refuses to leave the fair until she has won that super cute ram stuffed animal at one of the ‘throw a dart, pop a balloon’ stands. You smile to yourself. Who knows? Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  
After you had exhausted almost every ride with Aradia, who was now looking a little green in the face after the third go on the FireBall, the two of you start making your way over to the game section of the carnival. It was getting dark now, the sun was setting, and the lights in the fair grounds were starting to illuminate everything in its reach with a rainbow of color. She is no longer pulling you behind her, but walking next to you, side by side as you decide which games to try first. The workers hoot and holler at you, questioning your manhood and telling you to ‘win something for your pretty lady’, which you can’t help but laugh at. Aradia sticks her tongue out each time, groaning at the insinuation.

Finally, after about the third time, Aradia pips up, “Yeah, Sollux! Why haven’t you won me anything yet and swept me off my feet?” she pokes at you, “You’re not being a very good boyfriend here!” she tries to choke down a giggle, but fails.

“Oh no! I am so sorry, AA,” you lay the sarcasm on thick, “You’re not going to dump me if I don’t waste thirty bucks and twenty-five minutes at that sleazy game stand to win you a second rate stuffed animal, are you?” she punches you in the arm, hissing about how rude you are. You can’t help but chuckle.

The two of you have been friends for as long as you can remember; she is more your sister than anything else. The closest you two ever got to being a couple was when you helped her practice for your high school’s production of Romeo and Juliet two years ago, where she was Juliet. You had asked her why the hell she was so interested in theatre so suddenly, let alone interested in the main role, but she just told you she wasn’t. She simply loved the story- the almost stupidity of the two main character’s actions and the ever looming demise of everyone in the Shakespearian play was right up her alley. Aradia was a damn good Juliet, too. You thought she was the best actress, or actor for that matter, in the play.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Fuck, this was ridiculous. You knew the Drama Club made everyone do fundraising for the Fall Play, but did you really have to be signed up for the kissing booth? After about two hours of doing literally nothing but awkwardly smooching strangers and sitting next to your best friend, Feferi Peixes - who was getting substantially more kisses than you, you might add - you were getting pretty damn sick and tired of this whole thing. How in the hell were you going to make it through the rest of the night? This was torchure.

About a week ago, your drama teacher had announced the ideas for the annual fundraising event for the Drama Club. Usually, the 50-some students in the club were to sign up, along with one partner of choice, to either work one of the 10 club-run booths at the Pumpkin Jamboree, or to go door to door and sell chocolate bars in order to raise money. Every year, you and Feferi had worked the dunk tank at the town’s carnival, and you always loved it. You two would switch out every hour or so as to who manned the booth and who got dunked. No one else wanted to get dumped into cold water in late October, but you and Fef didn’t really mind, so it was really no problem for you to assure the spot the both of you wanted. This year, however, your teacher decided to switch it up and assign the pairs of volunteers to random booths. This infuriated almost everyone in the club, but your teacher was stone cold and had already made up his mind. That day, he posted the results, and when you saw ‘Kissing Booth’ followed by ‘Ampora / Peixes’, you groaned so loudly you thought you were going to cause an earthquake.

It’s not that you were bad looking, or that you were afraid of no one wanting to kiss you, no. You were actually quite handsome. But the thought of having to sit in a chair for hours, take people’s money and pucker your lips for every person who comes up to you, sounded like the worst way you could ever spend your first night at the Jamboree. Thank God you only had to work opening night, and you could enjoy the festivities for the other two days.

Your name is Eridan Ampora, you are a sixteen year old junior in high school, and you’re pretty sure you have never been so sick of getting kissed and taking people’s money in your whole life.

By now, though, Feferi is chatting up her thousandth customer, giggling and flipping her long hair behind her with the back of her hand. You glare at him, making your overprotection of your friend, and your irritation at the whole situation in general, quite obvious. He notices, and after paying for one more kiss from Feferi, he flashes a smug grin at both of you and walks away. Fef takes the two dollars she just made and puts it in the lockbox on the counter between you two. You roll your eyes as she starts humming, the small smile that she always wore never leaving her lips for a second.

“Fef, how long have we been here now? I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” You sigh, checking your watch for about the billionth time. Only 8 o’clock, four more hours to go. It was only just starting to get dark out now, and you would really like time to hurry the hell up so you can get out of here.

“Um… Well, I’m not sure, actually! Time has gone by pretty fast,” she shrugs, “Why? Are you not having fun?”

“What does it look like?” Huffing, you cross your arms, leaning back in your chair.

Feferi just giggles and pokes your cheek, “You’re just jealous that I’ve gotten more kisses than you!”

You scoff, the smile you tried to hold back stretching across your lips. You roll your bright blue eyes again and give your friend a gentle shove, “As if,” you murmur, “I’m makin’ all the money I need to. You’re the one who’s hittin’ on every guy who comes your way!” At this, she blushes and smiles brighter.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever, Eridan,” she shoves you back, “All the more reason for you to be jealous.”

You click your tongue against the roof of your mouth and cross your arms again, smiling and shaking your head. It was no secret at all that you once had a huge crush on your best friend. Everyone, including her, knew it. It didn’t go very well, you were desperate and clingy for her, and it ended up driving her away almost completely. Once you realized this, you pushed your feelings down hard and made sure never to let them resurface again. You knew you would rather have her as a friend than not have her at all, and after a while, you have grown to become totally okay with this fact. It doesn’t bother you at all anymore, and you think you are safe to say your romantic feelings towards Fef are almost completely diminished. Still, you remain protective and loving towards her; your friendship with her being the only real human relationship you have left. Not many people like you much, as you have a tendency to be cold and frankly, pretty rude at times. Your hipster persona has left you with a douchebag reputation that you weren’t exactly trying to fend off. Feferi, however, is the exact opposite of you, so full of life and happiness. People wonder how she puts up with you, and sometimes, so do you. That being said, though, you’re glad she does. Where would you be without her?

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

At about 11pm, as the night life of the festival started to dwindle, you and Aradia decided it was time to make your final lap around the park and see if there was anything you two missed. With her ram stuffed animal, which took about three turns at the stand, ten minutes, and twenty dollars to win, tucked tightly under her left arm, she was quite content with the day’s activities you both partook in today. You were, too. You ended up having an all out blast riding the rides and eating yourself sick with deep fried carnival food. You idly chat with your friend, talking about whatever comes to mind, as you make your way towards the back exit of the fair grounds. This was where all of the student-run stands were, and where most of the little kids hung out during the day. However, once the moon was in the sky and it was past any child under ten’s bedtime, this was a haven for teenage hangouts. Under the food stand tents, the high school’s only band had set up their makeshift equipment and had started playing their less-than-flattering covers of punk rock songs from the 90’s. Groups of teens crowded around them, smoking, drinking, making out, and telling stories. Across from the tents, the Drama Club fund raising stands were all set up, booths ranging from face painting to the stage where the pie eating contest was held hours ago. The Drama teacher had left about an hour ago to get home to his family, so the kid’s who were trapped there to raise money were closing up shop by now, even though they technically weren’t supposed to be done until midnight when the Jamboree officially ended for the day.

Suddenly, Aradia gasps and screams something you don’t quite understand before sprinting over to the t-shirt and hat printing stand. You watch her speed away for a second before jogging in her direction, wanting to catch up with her before you start to feel uncomfortable.

“Oh, Aradia! How wonderful to see you! I was wondering when you would stop by and pay me a visit.”

“Sorry it took so long, Kanaya. I’ve spent all day riding the rides with Sollux here,” she motions to you once you’ve finally caught up to where she’s now standing, “I totally lost track of time! Otherwise, I would’ve come said hi earlier.”

Kanaya Maryam was a tall girl for her age, standing at about six foot, just slightly under your own height of six foot two inches. Her dark black hair was short, barely covering her ears, and her black lipstick really brought out her pale complexion, even in the dark of the night. Despite her almost vampy appearance, she had a very delicate and precise way of doing things. Every word said in her gentle voice was annunciated to perfection, and her fingers were like ghosts on everything she touched. On the other side of that, though, everyone knew no one could work, tame, and master fabric like she could. Kanaya was the official seamstress for the drama department and every year, she worked herself to the brink of insanity sewing every single costume used in the school’s three theatre productions.

Although you didn’t know her very well, she was always kind to you,and you respected her and everything she did. Kanaya really poured her heart and soul into her sewing projects, and that was something you could do nothing but appreciate. Once musical season rolled around, the last production of the year and by far the most complex, you always pitied her. She walked around with a cloud of stress obviously over her head as she did everything she could to ensure the best gowns and garments for the actors and actresses of the musical. It seemed like she never took a day off, and if she did, everyone almost assumed she was dying. You felt bad for her, as almost everyone else did, but no one could really help. Kanaya was a master at her craft, and, despite being offered help from a few of her friends, she wouldn’t let them be burdened with her pickiness and her work in general. She always rose to the occasion and did her absolute best every year, and once it was all over, she started planning for the next year’s projects. You respected her, and liked her well enough. Aradia and her were friends as well, so you always kind of figured you were friends with her, too.

You stood next to your best friend as she chatted with Kanaya, telling her all about the adventures you two went on today. The dark lipped girl simply smiled and nodded as she started packing up her fabric printing equipment and the random assortment of clothing that went unused for the night. Once everything was tucked away neatly in cardboard boxes, she shooed you and Aradia out of the booth and closed up shop.

The three of you then carried the boxes of accessories into the main building on the fairgrounds, where all the materials for the Pumpkin Jamboree were stored. You were stacking the boxes next to each other in the “STUDENTS” section of stuff when someone one bursts through the door, huffing and puffing about having to stay at the festival for another hour when he wasn’t even working anymore. He ignored you completely as he grumbled to himself, walking right past you and dropping the now empty lockbox he was carrying on the ground.  _What the fuck is this guy’s deal?_

You don’t really get a good look at his face at first, but what really stands out to you about your angry visitor was the obnoxious purple streak in the front of his hair. Most of the hair on his head was dyed black, styled in an almost spikier version of the 1950’s slicked back look, causing his purple stands to stick up and become the center of attention. You saw the reflection of the lamp light in his huge, wide framed glasses, but you couldn’t make out the color of his eyes. He was wearing tight jeans and simple black sweater with a long blue striped scarf hanging around his neck. There seemed to be at least one ring on every single one of his fingers. He finally stopped mumbling to himself long enough to look around at the stacks of boxes, and at you.

You still had one or two boxes of heavy printing machinery to walk over to the rest of the stacks, but right now, you were marking which boxes held what type of clothing article for Kanaya as she went to get something substantial to eat with Aradia. You weren’t that hungry and she looked exhausted, so you offered to stay behind and clean up for her. It never occurred to you that you basically stopped what you were doing to stare at this seemingly random guy who just stormed into the building, but you realized now, once his eyes met yours, that you were definitely staring.

Wow, this guy’s whole ambiance screamed asshole.  _Pretty boy, hipster trash_. His now visible bright blue eyes locked with yours.

He cocked his hip to one side as he turned towards you, hooking his thumbs on his pants pockets. You blinked up at him, your left eye twitching in irritation already.

Who the hell did this guy think he was? Barging into the building like he owned the whole god damn place, spouting off his frustrations and not caring who heard him. Had he no shame? He was a total brat, and you knew it, even having just met the guy.

His stance- his outward cocked hip, his bent knees, and his hands resting on his hips. His face - his obnoxious hipster glasses, his piercing eyes, and his sleek features. His hair - the ridiculous color streaked bangs in contrast with rest of it all, slicked back and spiked up with about a metric ton of gel products.

His attitude made you feel the need for a cigarette; it made you crave nicotine.

He practically growled at you, “What?”

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

On top of already being frustrated by your days work and the fact you still couldn’t go home, you are now in a stare down with some boy sitting on the ground. You furrow your brow at him and curl your lips up and sneer.

“What?”

This boy, from the looks of it, was a good four or five inches shorter than you, and had no where near the borderline feminine body you donned. He was lanky, boxy, awkward looking, and had an incredibly slim face. Unkempt, light brown hair poked out on the sides of his head, behind his ears, and short bangs hung down on his forehead. His glasses were tinted in a way you had never seen before, and you almost suspected that he was wearing them as a joke or as some sort of nerdy fashion accessory. The lenses were tinted red and blue, like 3D glasses, but not as bright. You wonder why the hell someone would have prescription lenses colored in such a way. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, unzipped to show a plain yellow shirt underneath, regular jeans, and mismatched Van’s brand shoes - one shoe was white while the other was black. The only work that came to your mind in describing his aesthetic was… dork.

He blinked up at you again, raising his eyebrows before breaking eye contact and turning towards the numerous boxes in front of him, marker in hand, not saying a word. You jerk your head to face away from him, but you could feel him peering at you out of the corners of his eyes.

You’re sure you’ve seen this kid before, at least once. Where though?

The door behind the two of you opens again, and you both turn to see the much needed tension reliever.

“Eridan, for  _cod’s_  sake, you can’t just go storming off like that! I know you’re upset that you have to stay longer but so do the rest—-” she stops, looking at you and then to the boy crouched over the cardboard. She smiles warmly in his direction.

“Oh, hi, Sollux. I didn’t know you were at the Jamboree today.”

Sollux. God damn it, that’s right. Sollux Captor, Fef’s old ex boyfriend. It has been so long since you had thought about that kid that you almost forgot about him completely. His romance with Fef wasn’t anything great or special. To be honest, it was kind of weird. She was so bubbly and he was so snarky that you never even understood how they met in the first place, and their relationship really didn’t last all that long. A month, maybe? You remember her telling you about this new boy she had met that she was really interested in, but you only ever met him once, for a very brief moment. During their relationship, Fef had told you that they almost weren’t really dating, more like hanging out, talking, and kissing awkwardly sometimes. She told you that he never really acted like he was that into her, which took you aback. Feferi was definitely quite popular and sought after - a real catch - and someone not being interested in her when she was interested in them was almost unheard of. You didn’t really worry about it, though, and when she told you they decided to just be friends, you weren’t surprised.

“Yeah, uh, hey, FF,” he replied, shifting in his spot on the floor.  _FF? What kind of nickname is that?_

Feferi didn’t seem to mind the uncomfortable atmosphere that was now resting over the three of you, because she quickly turned back to you and started scolding you again for leaving the booth in a bratty fit. You crossed your arms and huffed at her, but eventually, you gave in and relaxed your back. You were just tired and irritated from a long day’s work, and all you wanted to do was go back home and sleep the night away so you could actually enjoy yourself tomorrow at the festival. She smiled at you as you relaxed and reached out to lightly touch your arm. A smile stretched across your lips.

“Alright Fef, I got it, now gimme a break. Look, if we’re gonna be stuck here for another hour, I wanna at least ride a ride or two.”

Your best friend giggles at you and nods before turning back to the brunet on the floor. You almost forgot he was there.

“Sollux? Would you like to tag along?” She almost hums at him, but he simply shakes his head, not even bothering to look up the box he was marking.

“No thanks, FF. I’ll stay here and wait for AA and KN to come back.”  

You noticed Feferi’s smile fade and slink into a slight frown, “Are you sure? Well, maybe after we can all meet up later. I’d  _reely_  like to hang ou—”

“No thanks, FF. I think I’m just going to have AA take me home after this.” He still hadn’t looked up at her.

“Oh, um. Okay, I guess.”

“Sorry.”  _Thorry._  He had a lisp. You watched his shoulders tense after he realized his slip up.

Feferi simply frowns again and pauses. Damn this kid was rude. You’re about to pipe up, grab Fef’s arm and tell her that this loser wasn’t worth either of your time when she suddenly beams.

“Well, what about tomorrow?” Her smile was back on her fuschia lip-glossed lips. “Eridan and I will both be free here tomorrow. What about you? Are you coming back?” You could swear you saw sparks flicker from behind his glasses before he sighed. Finally, he put his black marker down and turned to face your best friend.

“Uh, sure. Maybe, we’ll see.”

You guess this is good enough for Fef because she immediately clapped her hands together and giggled, “Yay! I guess I’ll  _sea_  you tomorrow, then!” You roll your eyes at her inflection on the word ‘see’, but you never really got tired of her fish puns. However, you weren’t exactly excited that she offered up your company to Captor. As you turn to make your way out of the building, side by side with Feferi, you could swear you felt eyes hidden behind 3D tinted glasses on your back.

You knew this Sollux kid and you would not get along. You knew he was going to be a problem for you.

The way his stupid hair stayed untucked from behind his ears and the way he got flustered after he accidentally gave away his lisp. His dumb red and blue glasses and his equally as dumb mismatched shoes.

You hated how rude he was when answering your friend.

You hated that you were still thinking about him.

—————————————————————————————————————

End of Chapter One

—————————————————————————————————————


	2. Chapter 2

About half an hour after Feferi and her friend, - you think you heard her call him Eridan - left, you’re glad to see Aradia and Kanaya enter the Pumpkin Jamboree’s service building where you have been stationed to clean up after Kanaya’s clothes printing booth. Since Eridan stormed out of the building next to FF, you have done nothing but sit there on the floor, replaying your encounter with the boy that so rudely disturbed you over and over again.

You almost felt pathetic. It was like his sharp cheekbones and pointed chin had carved his image into your eyelids; it was like his fiery attitude lit you ablaze.

The weight of the tension in between him and yourself was absent in the room now that he was gone, and your shoulders felt lighter. Something felt missing, though. You guess the hostility made you feel alive. In the one word he barked at you, you were reduced to a boiling pile of yourself; irritated and angry at everything about him, but you were somehow interested - incredibly intrigued - with the purple and black haired boy standing over you.

While you and Fef were having what you would consider to be a fairly civil conversation, you could actually feel the way he looked at you. He was sizing you up; every nerdy and awkward fragment of your being, he took in. Those azure eyes dug deep into you and made you feel hollow, strained, and they made your skin crawl. He stood defensively the whole time you two were together, until FF calmed him down, and your shoulders were taut in agreement. It was quite a first impression, almost comic book like; the dark hazel sparks emanating from your eyes met with his bright blue ones and fought to the death - thrashing, bolting, bouncing off each other - in between the two of you.

You haven’t fully untensed quite yet, and you were foolish for hoping Aradia wouldn’t notice.

“Geez, Sollux, what’s up with you?” She asks, the concern overpowering the sarcasm in her voice. You tisk and shake your head, shrugging your shoulders a little.

“This fuckin’ dude just barged in here like half an hour ago and threw a temper tantrum. FF had to come cool him down.”

“Oh, my god,” Kanaya sighs, rolling her head backwards on her slim neck, “Purple hair?” You purse your lips and nod. She groans, drumming her fingers across her white cheek, “We passed him walking with the Peixes girl on our way back here. He looked quite irritated. Yes, that would be Eridan. Quite the character, that one.”

You let out a forceful laugh. Aradia, who had been standing next to you, extended her arm out and pulled you up beside her, “I remember seeing him, but.. Who is he?”

“Eridan Ampora, a junior here, so it’s no surprise you aren’t well acquainted with the likes of him. He is in my drama club, and it certainly suits him. One of the spoiled rich kids from the upper side of town where all the millionaires move for a slice of ‘small town life’. He’s a brat, to say the least, always complaining about something,” She continues as you two start to make your way out of the building, preparing to go home, “To put it simply, Ampora is a child. He would rather focus on how his hair looked and who was talking about him than do almost anything else. However, there is something to be said about his determination. He is always lead role in our plays and he is excellent at what he does. There is no way he doesn’t appear on the honor role, either.”

Aradia offers to give Kanaya a ride home as the three of you make your way off of the fair grounds. She accepts, and she takes the front seat next to AA while you squeeze into the back, scooting your messenger bag that was still there from school earlier today over, your too-long legs pressing tightly against the back of the short haired girl’s seat in front of you. Once inside, you quickly pick up where the two of you left off.

“So what’s his deal, then?”

She simply shrugs, “To tell you the truth, I really don’t know for sure. However, I think it has to do with his relationship with Feferi. The two of them are incredibly close, almost overbearingly so. I heard they had a falling out of sorts years ago, and he kind of went nuts over it, but, obviously, they eventually patched things up and their friendship remains strong. Since then, though, he has kept himself quite reserved to others and doesn’t really try to fend off any negative comments. He more so… embraces them, I suppose. That, of course, can be seen as honorable and respectable, or lazy and detached.”

You absent mindedly run a hand through your hair. Fuck, you could really use a cigarette.

“Come on, he can’t really be that bad,” Aradia shines a wavering smile at you through the dashboard mirror.

“Well, I guess I haven’t had much first hand experience with him myself, that’s true,” Kanaya points the driver to take a left, and you arrive in her driveway only some ten minutes after you had left the fairgrounds. “But the stories I have heard and what I have seen of him just by being in the club with him all add up to about the same message. He a smart and talented guy, he’s just… arrogant, flamboyant.” She opens the passenger side door and smiles at Aradia, thanking her for the ride as she swings her legs out and exits the car. You follow suit, trading the backseat for the spot next to your best friend. Kanaya gives you a simple goodbye as well, but tells you one last thing before she turns her back on you and leaves.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

In about seconds, you were out of that god damn building and into the open air, trailing Feferi behind you as you power walk your way over to the other side of the fair grounds. You come to a rest next to an old, grimy wooden picnic table beside a food stand, and you sit down, your elbows on the table with your cheeks resting in your hands.

Fef sits down across from you, her hands in her lap as she looks at you with a small frown, “Eridan, are you _reely_ that upset with me for inviting Sollux to come hang out with us tomorrow?”

Truthfully, no, you weren’t. You weren’t necessarily happy about it, but it wasn’t a huge problem for you. As you left the building though, you hissed at your friend, exclaiming your disdain for her offering you up to hang out with him tomorrow, even if she was there. You had told her that you couldn’t believe that you had to spend time with Sollux tomorrow only because she didn’t ask you first. You made it clear you were upset.

You suppose you did this off of instinct; you were flustered.

He made you flustered.

He was rude, snippy, unkempt, and dorky. The way he talked was as if he dipped his tongue into a vat of liquid annoyance, but his one simple lisp made him seem all the more human.

You swallow hard in your throat. You didn’t even know why you were still thinking about him. He was a loser, that much was obvious to you; you were almost surprised he wasn’t wearing a Call of Duty t-shirt or something dumb along with his hetero-chromatic eyewear. He was snarky and he blew off you and Fef completely. He made you want to ball up your fists and say something to him to knock him off of his high horse.

He made you angry.

You drag your hands across your face and finally sigh, looking at your best friend in her jade green eyes, “Alright, Fef, no, I’m not really mad at you. A little upset, but I won’t be a baby about it.” She smiles at you again, and you’re glad to see it. “Now if we’re really gonna being hanging out with Captor tomorrow, tell me about him.”

While your intentions were true to what you told your friend, you also wanted to satisfy your own curiosity about this character. You were curious about what made him tick, what riled him up, and what made his stomach turn; all of these things he did to you, you wanted to know about him.

You wanted to hate him, and maybe you hoped Fef would give you the arsenal you need for that. But, maybe, you just wanted to get to know him. You felt as if he was already toying with you, and it was driving you mad.

“Okay, _whale_ , his name is Sollux Captor, as you already knew, and he is a senior, less than a year older than the both of us…” She trails off, placing her painted bright pink nails on her full lips.

You nod, and press her to continue, “Okay, so what is he like, then?” You feel kind of weird, uncomfortable, with asking your best friend the details of her ex boyfriend, but you figure there can’t be much harm in it. Not yet, anyways. You’re simply asking what he is like, that’s all.

“Um.. He’s dorky, but not it’s not any _fin_ crazy. It’s actually kind of cute,” She giggles and your stomach drops to the floor. Cute?

She continues, “ As you know, he was my boyfrond at one point, so I got along with him, but he can be quite sassy, immature, and kind of a jerk sometimes, but I _reely_ don’t think it’s on _porpoise_. He can be snappy but that’s kind of just how he is. Whenever he gets into it with somebody, he always feels bad afterwards. He’s a sweet guy.”

His rudeness was something you already knew about. He completely blew you off and only answered Feferi in short, aggravated sentences. Did he really not realize it? Does he feel bad about it now? You sigh, resting your cheek in your hand and nod again, waiting for her to start up again.

“He’s amazing at computers and he’s super smart, but kind of introverted. He doesn’t like to talk much, and would rather stay close with his good _fronds_ than make new ones. I don’t know, Eridan, he’s just… Don’t think he’s awful, okay? Please try to be civil with him tomorrow.”

You frown and look into your best friend’s eyes. She knows you, and she knows that he has already gotten under your skin. Feferi can't stand any sort of altercations, especially when it comes to people she loves and holds close.  You exhale deeply and nod, “Yeah, of course, Fef. I won’t pick any fights with him or nothin’, unless he’s edging on for one,” You smirk at her and she rolls her eyes with a smile.

You weren’t sure if you were being completely honest, though. It was like you wanted to have some sort of back and forth with the lanky excuse for a boy. You wanted to spit insults at him and watch the corner of his mouth form a smirk as his eyebrows raised high on his brow; it was like a silent promise of the slashes at you that he was planning on dealing out.

You wanted to grab a fistful of his golden yellow shirt and lift him off the ground, bringing his dark irises to finally meet yours at eye level, and spit remarks into his face. His sarcastic chuckle rumbling deep in your groin and your face being painted red with anger and embarrassment would drive you up the wall.

Maybe that is exactly what you wanted, then. You wanted to detest him, and you wanted him to loathe you back.

 

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****  
  


“I had heard him talking to Feferi about you.” Kanaya Maryam almost whispered this to you before she quickly made her way up her driveway and into her house with a wave.

You are now standing there, outside of your friend Aradia’s car, confused. She calls your name and you snap back into the state of cold reality before slipping through the door frame and plopping down in the passenger seat of her car. You sigh and close your eyes for a moment, then grab your seatbelt and click it over your body. Straining, you turn around and reach for your bag, fumbling around with it as Aradia starts to drive off. She shoots you a questioning glance and before you turn back around, you warn her.

“AA, please don’t get on my ass about this right now. I need it,” You sigh, sitting back around with a lighter and a single, thin cigarette tucked in between your long fingers. Aradia  furrows her brow and frowns at you, but doesn’t say anything. She absolutely hates it when you smoke and has told you, even though you don’t smoke often, that she won’t stand for it when she and you are together. Right now, though, you don’t particularly care. Your heart is thumping in your chest and your hands are shaking ever so slightly.

It has been a long, stressful last hour or two and when you roll down the window, the cold air strikes your face and you almost feel better. You strike the lighter and ignite the tip of your cancer stick before taking a long, deep drag.

It’s almost like your anxieties float away with the toxic smoke released from your lips, and your mind immediately clears. No thoughts of purple hair streaks, blue scarves, or hipster glasses. No thoughts of fuchsia glossed lips or the predicament you have found yourself in for tomorrow. You never specifically told Feferi that you would make it to the fair tomorrow, but she knows as well as you do that Aradia and yourself will be there just like you were today. The nervousness is gone for now though, and while your cigarette burns red in your fingers, you’re calm.

You and Aradia don’t exchange any more conversation after that. She drives in the darkness and you breathe in a mixture of poisons and slowly breathe them out. It isn’t awkward or uncomfortable or strained; it’s just the two of you, sharing a silent moment.

You don’t live too far away from the Maryam household, and when your friend pulls up and parks outside of your apartment building, you open the door and drop the cigarette butt at your feet, stomping it out with your black-shoed foot.

“I guess I agreed to hang out with FF and her friend tomorrow at the Jamboree,” You sigh, shrugging when she asks you why. “It just sort of happened, I don’t know.”

She looks sympathetically at you, and tells you she will pick you up at noon the next day. She doesn't bother to ask if you want her to come along, and you're thankful she knows you so well. You thank her and tell her goodnight, and she returns the favor after you step out of the car. You close the door and she smiles at you one last time before shifting into drive and taking off.

Your stairs creak as you hike up them, three floors, to your apartment flat. Unlocking the door, you step inside and immediately turn into the bathroom.

A long, hot shower felt better than you expected it to. The suds softening your pale skin and the fragrance of wild honey soap in the air seemed to melt all of the apprehensiveness away, circling it down the drain, never to be seen again. You spend a long time just standing there, getting yourself drunk on the hot droplets of water pounding against every concave indent and convex bone structure on your body. 

Laying in your bed now, though, you rest a hand over your eyes and emitting a quiet groan. It was now around one in the morning and you really did not want to wake up the rest of your sleeping family. Your legs shiver in your boxers and the oversized plain t-shirt rises with your chest as your lungs draw breath. The glasses you are never seen without rest on your nightstand, the differently tinted lenses reflecting the light from your lamp in varying shades of color on your wall. Color vision deficiency is a fancy way of stating your partial color blindness, which requires you to wear the funky red and blue tinted glasses. The tints help you differentiate different shades of color, but you would never truly see the vividity of certain colors. Cool colors are easy to see for you, but warm colors are a different story, as purples are quite visible while oranges are not quite as clear.

Purple. What an obnoxious color.

You roll over and take a long drink from the water bottle on your nightstand, groaning once more. The cool bottle began to sweat in your hand, and you bring it to your forehead.

Eridan Ampora had snaked his way back into your thoughts. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of Chapter Two

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the ship really starts to shine through!  
> This chapter was more a catalyst for what I have planned next, so next chapter should pick up very soon ; u;
> 
> Once again, any sort of feedback will be much appreciated!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of the Pumpkin Jamboree

You stare at yourself in the mirror, freshly cleaned, hair a wet mess, in the plush white robe you don after every shower. You woke up about an hour ago, at ten in the morning, and have since eaten a bowl of cereal for breakfast and quickly showered. Looking into the mirror, you notice the color of your streak had started to fade from the vivid violet you intended it to be to a more pearl tone violet. You angle your face in the mirror, overseeing every aspect of your features, making a mental note to pick up more hair dye later and have Feferi do it for you. She has been dying your hair ever since you decided you wanted the pop of color atop your head, but as you never got the color consistency to your liking, she offered to color it for you. The two of you bonded over the moment, kind of how you assume older ladies go to the salon and gossip with their friends, and you’ve never tried to do it yourself after that. You grab the blow dryer resting on the counter and begin to style your hair, the hot air relieving the goose bumps on your chilled, damp skin.

Once completely dry, you dress yourself in your outfit for the day: your thick rimmed glasses, a simple white shirt and tighter than nirmal jeans.You then proceed to slather your hands in gel and slick your hair off of your forehead, spiking it up slightly, making your unnaturally colored strands stand at the center of attention. After you clean your sticky fingers, you slide on your normal amount of rings- at least one on each finger. The reflection in the mirror keeps you occupied for awhile, checking yourself often to make sure you look as presentable as possible.

Your phone vibrating on the counter startles you and you check the time - 12:30pm - before looking at your recent text messages. A bright red bubble draws your attention to the message that just came in from Fef,

_“ )(ey sleepyhead! 38P How much longer do you need to get ready?”_

You quickly type out a response, smirking at the stab at how long you take to make sure your appearance is pristine,

_“ill have you know im almost done noww”_

Another text comes in about a minute later,

_“Glub! 38) I’ll be over to pick you up in an a few.”_

After one last check in the mirror, a run through of your hair and a straightening of your glasses, you leave the ocean themed bathroom on the second floor of your house, your bathroom, and make your way down stairs. By any means of the word, you knew your house was big, but the distance from the stairs, passed the pool, passed the kitchen, and into the back closet where your shoes and coats were wasn't all that long. You slipped on your blue and purple Tom’s brand canvas shoes and grab your jet black pea coat, with your wallet tucked in one of the pockets, and put it on, leaving it unbuttoned. When you hear Fef’s car horn blare outside your garage, you take your favorite navy and blue striped scarf and wrap it a few times loosely around your neck before locking the door behind you and leaving your house.

You meet your friend sitting in your driveway in her pinkish-purplish Tesla. She had gotten that car on her 16th birthday, and was incredibly excited about her seventy-one thousand dollar gift. Feferi was not the best of drivers, usually getting distracted by her favorite song on the radio or by her own conversation, but she drove the two of you everywhere. The both of you had agreed she would usually drive as you don’t have a car and your older brother’s ride was the definition of a Piece of Shit vehicle. The family definitely had the money for a nicer car, but that wasn’t how Cronus Ampora worked. You couldn’t even figure out how that thing got from Point A to Point B without breaking down, and the one time you ever drove it you thought you were strapped into a death trap. He thought it was cool, though, “vintage”, and never complained about it. Ever since your first and only experience driving his P.O.S., Feferi has always driven the two of you around wherever you needed to go, just like she was doing today.

She was sitting in the driver’s seat with her lips pursed up into a smile, her long, brown hair flipped behind her shoulders, the neon-accented smock style dress flowing around her was complemented with a simple black cardigan, and her bright evergreen eyes shined when she greeted you. You give her a simple hey back when you slip into her car, closing the door behind you and clicking your seatbelt.

“So Mr. Ampora, are you ready to go?” She grinned at you again, shifting her car into reverse and backing out of your long pavement driveway, “I know you’re not too happy about hanging out with our guest today but I just wanted to thank you for going along with this for me.”

You smile at her and she glances at you, returning the gesture. You twist your thumbs around in your lap, fidgeting as she turns the radio on and starts to sing along to the Top 40 Music Hits. You stared out the window for most of the ride, mouthing the words to certain tunes and lyrics that you enjoy. You didn’t think you were nervous, but the anxiety was starting to get to you at this point.

Dammit, what was wrong with you? Why, now of all times, were you nervous?

The music resonating from Fef’s speakers weren’t enough to pull you out of your thoughts. One song in particular though, had you and Feferi scream-singing, belting out every word. Counting Stars by OneRepublic was an absolute favorite between you and your best friend, and everytime it came on the radio, you both lunged for the volume dial, cranking it up, and blasting the beat out. The two of you look at each other, beaming, and recited every word, every syllable, every beat, by heart, and by the time the song fades out, you both are laughing, red in the face, cheeks and mouths sore.

When Feferi pulls up to the Pumpkin Jamboree’s parking lot, you take a deep breath in and exit her car, being careful not to slam the door. She locks the vehicle with a click of her car remote and smiles at you wearily. You shrug at her and the two of you walk into the park, laying down $15 dollars each for ride wristbands, and wait by the entrance for your guests to arrive.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck ii am 2o 2orry AA ii promiise ii wiill be downstairs in liike ten miinute2”_

You had been so rudely awoken around 12:30pm by your phone ringing loudly - a text message from your best friend asking you where you were. You were confused at first, wondering what she meant, until you saw what time it was. The alarm on your phone was off, you must’ve forgotten to set it last night when you got home.

As quickly as you possibly can, you shuffle into a new outfit consisting of whopping a pair of blue jeans - your cellphone in one pocket, a half empty pack of smokes in the other -, a plain undershirt, a black hoodie with a small, yellow Gemini sign embroidered on the breast, and your signature black and white Vans. After having to bang on the door of the one bathroom in your house since your brother Mituna literally took for-fucking-ever in the shower, you only end up taking a total of five minutes in the bathroom getting ready. Before slipping on your glasses, you try to smooth down your unruly, pointy hair. You give up with a frustrated sigh and let it do whatever it wants - stick out from behind your ears, all down on your forehead, it didn’t matter. You were late enough as it was already. Grabbing a granola bar from the pantry in the kitchen, you yell out to your brother not to wait up, to which he responds something reminiscent of a ‘fuck off’, but you closed the door before he could finish whatever he was saying.

You scramble out the door and down the stairs of the apartment building and rush out to see Aradia already waiting in her car parked on the street. She always drove you two around since your family couldn’t afford a car just for your sixteen year old self, and she always had the gray Pontiac to use whenever she wanted anyways. She technically  shared the car with her older sister, but Damara never really used it, so Aradia claimed it as her own. It was an unspoken agreement that you and her always rode together, and that she always drove you two, and you were thankful that you could rely on her for that.

“Good morning Sollux,” she looks at you with a sarcastic smile stretched over her lips, making fun of the groggy grunt you give her as a greeting when you slump into her passenger seat. You give a mocking laugh as you fasten your seatbelt over you and relax your shoulders and rolling your window down a touch to get some cool air flowing in. Aradia just continues to smile at you before twisting on the radio, classic rock thumping out of her speakers, and shifting into drive and taking off. Her clock said 12:55 and you immediately started to feel terrible. It was about a fifteen minute drive from your house in the smack dab middle of town to the fairgrounds on the outskirts.

“You should text Feferi. I’m sure she is there by now and we are definitely going to be late, no matter how much I speed,” She says sideways to you, and you nod, pulling your phone from your pocket and skimming through your contacts.

You can’t remember the last time you texted Feferi.

 _“hey FF iim really 2orry ii 2uck and 2lept iin we are gunna be a liittle late”_  You read over the text about three times before sending it. In seconds, you receive a text back,

_“Oh! Okay, no problem. Eridan and I are right inside the gate for you guys! 38D”_

You slant your jaw and tuck your phone back in your pocket, your throat tightening. In your haste this morning, you forgot all about the purple and black haired boy you encountered yesterday, and really forgot all about the fact you were spending all day with him. Aradia sings along to the post-80’s rock on the stereo, and you try to shake the nerves out of you, focusing on the music. There was no way you were going to become stressed out about this. It wasn’t a big deal; the four of you would hang out for a few hours, ride some rides, play some games, eat some shit food, and go home. There was absolutely nothing to worry about, but here you were, suddenly incredibly conscious of the stupid way your hair must look and the newly formed pale red bumps along your forehead. You pull down the sun visor above you and open the mirror on it, checking out every aspect of your face, running your fingers along your cheekbones and trying once more to tame your sandy brown locks. Aradia shoots you a glance, but doesn’t say anything, pulling up into a parking space, pushing down the lock button on her car door, and grabbing her purse before hopping out of the car. You follow suit, closing your own door behind you and walking up to the festival's entrance. As you and Aradia approach the ticket clerk, you hear the bubbly voice you’ve been expecting call out your name. Feferi is standing there behind the gate, on her tip toes, waving her extended arm at you. Eridan is standing close next to her, his arms crossed over his chest, his entire weight shifted onto one leg. He isn’t looking at you.

You wave back with a small smile and buy two wristbands, one for you and one for your friend standing next to you, wallet in hand. You tell her to put her money away, that you owe her for coming to this meeting with you. She smiles and insists, but eventually gives up and grabs her wristband, fastening it to her slim wrist, and turning to help you fasten yours as well. Finally, you turn and walk into the park, officially entering the Pumpkin Jamboree’s second day. Feferi and Eridan stay put as the two of you walk over to them. Eridan is still not looking at you.

“Look who _fin_ ally decided to show up!” Feferi beams at you, poking you in the arm. You give a slightly awkward laugh and a yeah, but you don’t say much else. You are so incredibly uncomfortable right now.

Why was he absolutely refusing to acknowledge you? Was it how shitty you looked? Oh god, your conscious told you you looked terrible, and you could feel it. Eridan, on the other hand, looked borderline flawless, like a photoshopped model out of a fashion magazine. There was no doubt in your mind his outfit costed more than what your life was worth, and there was a light dusting of pink on his cheeks and nose.

“We are really sorry about that, guys. Sollux here doesn’t know how to set an alarm clock, I guess,” Aradia pips up for you, smiling at you and then at the pair of friends in front of you. Your cheeks heat up a bit and you nod, looking quickly to the ground. The Ampora straightens up now, his arms falling to his sides, and cocks his head to look you up and down, his expression utterly blank. His bright blue eyes seem to take in everything about you, and it makes your chest tighten. You awkwardly clear your throat, but his gaze doesn’t leave. You finally look up and make eye contact with him for the second time in your life. The two of you lock eyes for a few second before he simply blinks and begins to walk away.

“Whatever, come on, let’s go. I wanna do something besides sit here and wait.”

Aradia seems to agree and tugs on your elbow, following behind the older boy. Feferi giggles and walked alongside her.

Things were weird between you and Eridan. Feferi and Aradia got along swimmingly, chatting up and down and never shutting up about one thing or another. They were smiling and giggling and sitting next to each other on the rides, leaving you and the other boy to interact alone. You shifted in your position and didn’t say much, and Eridan contributed to FF and AA’s conversation when he could. Finally, the topic of which game to play was brought up. You looked around and saw one of those games where  to five people spray water guns into a target, filling up the corresponding meter. You point in it’s direction and suggest the four of you compete to see who can fill their meter first and win a prize. Feferi squeaked in agreement, but Eridan simply rolled his azure eyes in his skull, clicking his tongue and raising an eyebrow at you. You frowned for a second before cocking your head to the side, narrowing your eyes,

“What’s the matter, Ampora? Afraid of a little friendly competition? Or are you positive I’ll whoop your ass so you’re just waving your little white flag now?”

His eyes lit ablaze as he smirked at you, crossing his arms once more. The challenge slid off of your tongue like poison, egging him on. You two had barely said a word to each other since you got to the fair, and tensions were high. He jutted out his hip and swung his arm out, motioning you to the stand.

“Prepare to fucking die, Captor.”

The four of you quickly sit down on the hard game stools, you on the end with Eridan to your left, manning your stations and grasping the water-guns in front of you. Each of you lay down three dollars for the game and the worker quickly runs through the rules - first one to fill the meter won a small stuffed animal from the rack. Your slender pointer finger grazed over the smooth plastic of the water-gun’s trigger. The announcer started to count down from five, and you glance at the boy next to you. He was hunched over his gun, his fierce gaze, the definition of eyes on the prize, was intimidating, and his pink tongue was slowly sliding out from the corner of his mouth in concentration. His sleek features, his pale skin painted a slight shade of pink, his slim, red lips, his crystal eyes…

_Bam!_

The game had started and you scramble to regain your position, frantically aiming your gun on the target, collapsing your finger down on the plastic trigger, jetting water out onto the bullseye. In a matter of seconds, a bell sounds, signalling a winner. You only made it about three quarters up your meter, but next to you, Eridan jumped from his seat and exclaimed victory, fist pumping the air. Aradia had come in a close second, her face scrunched in a disappointed smile. Feferi had been third, trailing right behind Aradia, a huge grin on her face, saying how much fun that had been. You were dead last in the race, and pretty ashamed of it, too.

“Nice big talk there, Sol, but it looks like you just got destroyed.” Eridan put his hands on his hips confidently, a smug grin on his lips. You shook your head and shrugged. He looked around the rack of prizes and his eyes settled on a small, light blue seahorse plush. Eridan’s eyes lit up and he smiled widely, pointing at it. The announcer plucked it from where it was hanging and handed it to him, which he then tucked into the outside pocket of his jacket. He looked genuinely happy, his soft expression looked warm, and you felt yourself smiling along with him.

 

Over the next few hours, everyone had seemed to have figured out exactly how you and Eridan function together. At every opportunity, a sly comment was made or a small insult was chucked at the other. The two of you bickered about everything: what ride to go on, what game to play, if the game was rigged or not when someone lost, what food was good and what was absolute garbage, what jokes were funny and what weren’t, etcetera. You egged him on and pressed his buttons, and he fed off of it, shooting back the antagonism at every opportunity he got with a smirk on his pointed lips. You would shake your head and smile and he would lose his balance in the quarrel, tripping over his words and finally settling on crossing his arms and pouting. This only fueled the fire inside of you even more. You wanted to trip him up, you wanted to fluster him and make him blush out of aggravation. The more you poked at him, the more angry he got. The angrier he got, the cuter it was, and the wider your smile grew in return.

Anyone could see that the chemistry between you two was off the charts. Your snarky comments met his unadulterated sass and they seemed to bounce off of each other in perfect synchronization. Your attitudes mixed and created music, your eyes met and there was beautiful, chaotic spark shared between the two of you. He would say something cocky and you would shoot back a retort, bringing him down a peg. He would get flustered and snap back at you and you would give him your best charming, smug smile. The tension was insane, and it drew up something inside of you that you hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

The hours flew by, and around 10pm, the four of you were beaten down by a long day of rides, games, grease-ridden food, and good company. You were all smiling, laughing, poking fun, and having a good time. With a yawn, the two pairs mutuallu decided it was time to pack up and head home. You all walked out into the parking lot, guided by the yellow-tinted lights from the fairgrounds. Feferi unlocks her car, a few spaces down from where Aradia had parked, when Eridan clears his throat and says,

“So, same time tomorrow?”

Feferi smiled at the ground as she slid into her car, Eridan waiting outside, staring at you. You look nervously towards Aradia, whose cheeks were pushed up against her bright smile. She nodded slightly at you, and you swallow, looking back at the hipster-esque boy awaiting your answer.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure.”

The pink dust of blush is back on your cheeks when you wave goodbye and climb into your best friend’s car. Her eyes twinkle at you and you can’t help but laugh.

You felt like you were drowning in Eridan Ampora, and you really aren’t putting up much of a struggle to save your own life.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of Chapter Three

**  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh man theyre so gay  
> so very very gay
> 
> Day 3 of the Pumpkin Jamboree is next, and I'm very excited for what's to come! I don't know if it will be the last chapter or not, or if i continue to roll with the story. Who knows, I guess we'll just have to see.
> 
> As always, any kudos/comments/reviews are welcome!<3


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SO you know how I said last chapter that this would be Day 3 of the Jamboree?  
> Yeah i lied.  
> Sorry.  
> Here's Day 2's night home, instead!

After an incredibly long day at the fair, you fall over onto your overplushed bed, wrapping yourself in the dark violet comforter. You were exhausted, absolutely beat, but there was no way you could stop your mind from wandering.

As soon as Feferi had dropped you off in front of you not-so-humble abode around 11, you stumbled inside, grunting at your brother who was stationed in front of the television watching the Hallmark Channel, and went directly to the bathroom where you cleaned up before turning in for the night. You undressed and slipped into a pair of black sweatpants and a light blue, oversized tee-shirt from your last summer job at an aquarium a few towns over. The stuffed animal sea horse you had won at the Jamboree had made it’s way out of your coat pocket and onto your bed, resting on one of the four pillows you slept with. It was incredibly cute, sky blue and about the size of a small composition notebook, and its black, plastic button eyes sparkled when the light of your ceiling fan hit them. It has a single, long fin running down its spine and it’s tail gradientes into a darker blue as it curled around itself. A smile formed on your lips as you picked it up and held it to your chest. It was soft and squishy, not necessarily like those cheaply made, mass produced carnival toys everyone else gets, and you were incredibly surprised to see this certain type of sea horse. Winged Seahorses are rare in the wild, and even more so in the market. You look your stuffed companion in it’s face and decides it needs a name of some sort. In remembrance of the discoverer of such a rare and beautiful species, you name your new stuffed friend Kuiter.

You carefully place him, sitting upright, on the shelf above your bed where all your little under-the-sea nick nacks were, and flop back down on your soft bed, your arm over your eyes. Your chest moves up and down steadily with your breathing, and you find yourself more relaxed than you have been in ages. Yes, you were exhausted, but in a good way. You had more fun in today’s activities than you had had in a long time, not to mention against the odds. The entire day was spent bantering back and forth with the Captor boy, but there was never any malice behind it. It was all in good fun. Feferi even nudged you once and told you to knock of the flirting, that it was embarrassing. This caused you to blush and stammer back at her that you were doing no such thing, which got you a tisk and an eye roll in response.

You didn’t think you were flirting, did you? At least, not consciously, you didn’t.

There was a strain in your throat though, when you thought about him. Those dull brown eyes hidden behind those incredibly corny and some what embarrassing heterochromatic eyewear, his crooked smile and his almost pointed teeth.. Fuck that smile - that smirk. It screamed cockiness and intellect, and it did nothing but piss you off whenever he flashed it at you. It was like his pushing and prodding at your every move doused you in gasoline and that fucking smirk struck the match, lighting you aflame, rendering you useless but to snap back at him with all your might, all your attitude funneled into a comment to absolutely break him. All he would do, though, was flick his eyes towards you and raise an eyebrow, giving you the satisfaction of a response but the anger towards his sarcastic nature. He made you speechless, in the worst way possible. His sass outweighed yours, his snark beat yours into the ground; you could never get a word in edgewise that matched anything he could throw back at you. His attack strategy worked, too, which just fueled your fire even more. He knew exactly what buttons to push that would make you crumble, your breath hitch, your cheeks warm, and your eyes flutter. He did everything to you that you wished he wouldn’t, but loved when he did. The fights brought a smile to your lips and made you feel almost exuberant. The bickering was borderline perfect. It was a battle between the two of you, the nerd versus the rich kid - a tale as old as fucking time - and you enjoyed every second of it.

The sheer amount of platitude over the whole situation made you want to grimace, but you knew that this was how it had to be. You almost wanted it this way; you wanted to break down his cocky rule over you, you wanted to best him at his own game. There isn’t anything you could do about it, though. It was too late to back out and he had infiltrated your thoughts to the point of annoyance. Thinking of ways to beat him, to retort against anything he had to say, to one up him, finally…

You sigh. You knew you liked this arrangement way, way too much. You loved snickering back and forth with Sollux. It was just the amount of fun and light in your life that you needed, almost twisted in a way, how much you liked the drum of your heart whenever he slung something sassy your way.

Your thoughts are penetrated by the sound of faint buzzing. You scramble around in your bed, tossing the sheets everywhere in search of your lost phone. Luckily, when you find it, you see it’s just a text message coming in. It’s a message from Feferi, which doesn’t surprise you since she is the only one who really ever texts you, and all it says is a simple hey. You reluctantly text back, contemplating letting the matter sit until morning.

_“wwhats up fef”_

_“Oh, not)(ing, just got into bed. I just wanted to s)(ell you t)(anks for )(anging out wit)( Aradia and Sollux wit)( me today! 38)”_

You’re momentarily confused by her last message. You and Fef did all of your hanging out together, no matter who it was with, but you guess you know what she means. You send time articulating your next message.

_“its no problem not like i hated it or anythin”_

_“Yea)(, I know, but I do also know that you weren’t exactly )(appy about it in the beginning, either! Looks like you )(ad lots of fun thoug)(!”_

Gross. You knew this is why she wanted to talk to you so late. She had been side-eyeing you all day, and with every back and forth comment slung at Sol, she seemed to giggle. You roll your tired eyes and lazily text back.

_“wwhats that supposed to mean”_

_“Oh, you know, I just figured the nonstop flirting meant somet)(ing to someone other than me, a t)(ird party outsider!”_

_“i wwasnt flirtin fef”_

_“Yea)(, sure, Ampora! You dolphinitely didn’t seem like you were in the early stages of all out smitten at all!”_

_“thats because im not”_

_“You t)(ink he’s cute, don’t you!!! 38D”_

Alright, now she was seriously pissing you off.

__

_“no i dont actually and youre gettin on my nerves about it”_

_“Okay, fine. We’ll sea about that tomorrow, I guess. Glub at you later! 38P”_

You grumble to yourself and toss your phone to the other side of your bed, murmuring about how you couldn’t believe Fef knew you thought Sollux was cute. You tried your hardest to keep it as far from obvious as you could. Then again, she was your best friend and basically knew you better than you knew yourself.

You were so fucking screwed, and you knew it. Admitting it to yourself made you want to just curl up in your bed and sleep forever. He was cute, and you definitely knew you thought so, you just didn’t want to think that way. Literally just yesterday you wanted nothing more than to hate the taller, scrawnier boy, and today you had the time of your life hanging out with him and you were refusing to tell Fef how cute you thought he was.

God dammit, it was like your life was now one of those stupid romance novels. You pulled one of the four pillows on your bed to your head, squishing it on your face, groaning loudly into the cotton insides.

Sollux Captor: Asshole Extraordinaire and Cute as All Hell Romantic Interest. What the fuck is wrong with you?

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“s0llux y0u are s0 ridicul0us just admit it already”_

_“AA ii dont know what el2e you could want me two admiit”_

For the past hour now, you had been texting back and forth with your best friend. It was like as soon as she got home after dropping you off, her phone was in her hand with your number already opened. You barely had time to take a quick, scalding hot shower and lay down on your stiff bed, cover yourself with a thin blanket, and rest your head on the one pillow you owned before your phone started to buzz. Aradia had sent you an almost passive aggressive message asking you what the hell today was all about. For a second, you honestly had no idea what she was talking about. It really didn’t take you long to figure it out, though.

_“that y0u are full 0ut in l0ve with t0rmenting that p00r boy 0_0”_

_“ii wouldnt ever de2criibe him a2 a poor boy AA”_

_“y0u kn0w what i mean!!!”_

You chuckle a bit before swiping your fingers over your cellphone’s screen.

_“look ii already told you that ii thiink he2 annoyiing rude and narcii22ii2tiic. other than that ii dont thiink much of hiim”_

_“s0llux capt0r d0nt y0u dare lie t0 me i saw the l00k 0n y0ur face when eridan asked us t0 hang 0ut with him again”_

__

Well, shit. She saw. She definitely saw, even though you were so sure you hid everything well enough. Your face was the shade of cherries when Eridan had suggested hanging out again the next day, and you knew it. You felt it creep along your cheekbones and the apples of your cheeks, painting you an embarrassing shade of blushy-red. You knew she saw the huge, dorky smile appear on your lips before you consciously shook it away and tried your best to calmly accept the invitation by the younger boy. You tried so hard to seem cool about the entire situation, but you couldn’t help it. You wanted so badly to hang out with him again; you wanted so badly to rev your heartrate up as you fought back and forth with him, to feel your chest tighten as he fumbled over what to say to you when you clearly had the upper hand in your arguments. You wanted to watch him blush, smile, frown, cross his arms, glare at you - anything and everything he did, you wanted to be around for. She must’ve caught a glimpse of you and your warm cheeks when you slid back into her car, desperate to cover up the evidence of your excitement.

You swallow roughly and hesitate before texting her back defensively.

__

_“iim not lyiing ii thiink he2 fun two me22 wiith. what do you want me two 2ay AA?”_

_“i think y0u sh0uld tell me why y0u accepted his 0ffer f0r t0m0rr0w”_

_“fuckiing fiine! want me two 2ay ii thiink he2 really fun two fuck wiith and ii liike how we get along and how we fiight and how he2 riidiiculou2ly good lookiing and that ii liike iit when he 2miile2? that ii know he2 fuckiing iidiiotiic and chiildii2h but he make2 me way more exciited and nervou2 than ii really need two be and ii ju2t want two fuckiing hang out wiith hiim agaiin?”_

Pause. She doesn’t text back for a while, for what seems like way too long. You start to shake, nervous about what she has to say. You tried to funnel every conflicting feeling you had about Eridan into that short message and sent it without even looking it back over. You said exactly what came to mind and rolled with it without a second thought. You suppose if it was what came so easily to you, how much you disliked his childish personality but loved the way it conflicted with yours, it must be what you really wanted to say. What she wanted you to say, anyways. Maybe you said too much, though...

Finally, your phone lights up in the darkness of your room, illuminating the wall behind your bed.

_“s0unds ab0ut right t0 me”_

That was it? That was all she had to say, another passive aggressive text after you finally just fucking said everything you never wanted to say?

Another text comes in before you can respond, before you can feel yourself get wrapped up in anger. Another message from Aradia takes up your entire screen.

 

_“ill pick y0u up t0m0rr0w at the same time okay”_

 

You sigh, shutting your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose for a second. She got you, just like she always did. She made you admit what you didn’t want to, that you were seriously still thinking about Eridan Ampora, and that you were seriously in deep already.

 

_“yeah okay goodniight AA”_

_“and s0llux”_

_“yeah?”_

_“he definitely likes y0u t00. g00dnight”_

**  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conflicting feelings ahoy!
> 
> I promise next chapter will be Day 3, for real. 
> 
> Also, I'm sorry it took me so long to update, been pretty busy, ya know
> 
> As always, any sort of feedback is appreciated!<3


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